Amal Fawwaz Chahab, a Palestinian activist and a well-known leader within her community, was born in Beirut and raised in Ain El-Helwe refugee camp, where she still resides with her family. Saida’s Ain El-Helwe camp hosts 80,000 refugees, the majority of whom are of Palestinian descent. It is Lebanon’s largest refugee camp with a span of 1.5 square kilometers.
UNRWA-educated and Siblin-trained, Amal received a qualification as a public health inspector. Her childhood was just like any other displaced youth living in one of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps; external conflicts were just as to rife as the internal disputes that dictated their fate. She laughs as she mentions her vocal talents, a voice that had gotten her widespread recognition in the camp when she was an adolescent making sense of her world and her purpose.
She expresses a shared identity with other Palestinians residing in Lebanon due to their collective removal from their land. However, there is a distinct bond amongst the women, whose hardships were compounded with the patriarchal discipline that limited their ambitions. Without directly saying so, it is clear that Amal is a feminist in the many ways that she has fought for her right to lead. When the camp’s men were imprisoned by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) or busy fighting wars of liberation, it was the women––the mothers, the daughters, the sisters––that carried twice the weight of the family’s survival and well-being. Watching and participating with the elderly and the young as they fed and nurtured the children whilst working under exploitative conditions imparted unto Amal everything she knew about self-worth.
“I know myself now, I know my abilities. People can talk and they can judge, but I trust myself to know that everything I do sparks hope and change.”
In 1982, Amal was kidnapped by the IDF. Her hands were tied and a bag was put over her head when they had thrown her into a prison cell. For days, she had no indication of night or day and recalls an impending nervous breakdown before being transferred into a women’s prison facility. Using the loose thread found on pillowcases or duvets, the women inside the facility came together and passed time by sewing traditional Palestinian patchwork, which instilled in Amal a duty to serve her people upon her release.
From 1985 to 2008, Amal acted as supervisor to the Palestinian Women’s Organization where she also undertook several training sessions in children’s education. Soon after, her son, Mohammed, suffered from a traumatic head injury requiring two urgent surgeries at just 14-years-old. As a result of the trauma, he could no longer go to school and socialize with friends; about paranoia and depression soon followed.
Amal enrolled Mohammed at the Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, a center located in Mar Elias offering disabled children an educational, interactive, and safe environment to participate confidently and effectively in society. Over the course of his first few months, a physical education instructor noted Mohammed’s flair for long jumps. Amal was encouraged to pursue his physical training, which landed him at the 2004 Paralympics.
“I believe all Palestinian women are inherently strong,” mentioned Amal. “But the female presence in Ain El-Helwe has brought us the educational resources and cultural heritage vibrant throughout the camp’s streets.”
Amal’s experience became the premise of the many workshops that she held for other mothers in the camp with special needs children. The workshops-turned-center rely on social aptitude and psychological support to empower Ain El-Helwe’s youth. These workshops were the first of their kind, spearheaded by personal experiences and knowledge that Amal had gathered herself from Mohammed’s journey.
Currently, Amal is heading the Amal Centre for the elderly, more specifically, the Nakba’s generation, in order to preserve Palestinian tales, heritage, and traditional songs. She also plays an active role in an anti-abuse program led by the Norwegian People's Aid.
“We have to reject this cycle of violence passed down from each generation. But this change requires patience and time.” Amal told Kayani Project.
Speaking of Palestine, Amal clarifies she has never been able to visit her own land––land she dreams of cultivating and harvesting. She staunchly defends the hope she still has to see the land of her people once more. This hope, she says, lies in the common objective that pulsates throughout Palestinians near and abroad and the certainty that the keys that have been passed down from one generation to the next will one day open the doors of homes they’d been exiled from.
“Palestine is everything to me. It’s the purpose of my life. When we go hungry, when misery overcomes us, it is Palestine that brings me back down to this Earth.”
Despite the exhaustive struggles Amal has faced in her lifetime, nothing seems to stop her from achieving everything she set out to achieve in her life after her release from prison. In the final moments of the call, she responds to a question about what final words she has for her children or the camp’s youth.
“You’re capable of anything and everything.”